The south side of Heil Valley Ranch in Boulder County will remain closed through September as officials continue the recovery process after the CalWood Fire.
The Boulder County commissioners approved the full closure of the Geer Canyon access at Heil Valley Ranch through Sept. 30 because of significant public safety concerns, the county announced.
The closure includes the main trailhead, Wapiti Trail, Lichen Loop Trail, Overland Trail, Grindstone Quarry Trail and the Corral parking area. More than 10 miles of trail will remain open, accessible from the Picture Rock trailhead near Lyons.
The Picture Rock parking lot is often full and parking violations will be ticketed, officials said. It is recommended visitors make plans to visit another open space park if the parking lot is at capacity.
The CalWood Fire was ignited on Oct. 17, three miles northwest of Jamestown. It burned more than 10,000 acres of land before being contained on Nov. 14.
In the spring and summer, Boulder County Parks and Open Space staff will continue hazard tree removal, aerial mulching, erosion mitigation and replacing damaged amenities and infrastructure including bridges, fencing and signage.
The area could also experience dangerous flooding and debris flows during the summer monsoon season with possible impacts to both trailheads, many roads and downstream communities, according to weather and burn modeling.
Staff are focusing early erosion control work on decreasing the impacts of storms on the burn area. Infrastructure replacements will likely continue into the fall after the threat of flooding has passed.
For more information and updates on the recovery process, visit the Heil Valley Ranch Cal-Wood Fire Recovery webpage. Other Boulder County trail options can be found at boco.org/trails.
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